What do you think?
Rate this book
Bulletproof Witch #1
Bulletproof Witch: The Delivery of Flesh
Temperance Whiteoak is the last surviving heir to her grandfather’s legacy. Gunslinger. Daemon-hunter. Witch. Able to call forth powerful magicks with the pull of a trigger. With her faithful talking horse Astor, she travels across Korvana, searching for the daemon that killed her family and destroyed her town.
Just a few weeks onto the trail, not everything is going as planned. After joining what should have been a routine escort mission to earn a bit of coin, Temperance finds herself saddled with babysitting an unyielding marshal and his sorcerous prisoner. To make matters worse, an army of bandits are hot on their heels, determined to free the sorcerer at any cost. It will take all of Temperance's wits—and bullets—to come out of this on the right side of the dirt.
THE DELIVERY OF FLESH is the first in a planned eight-part series, with book two also available. The book also includes six illustrations by artist Jin A. Lee.
Just a few weeks onto the trail, not everything is going as planned. After joining what should have been a routine escort mission to earn a bit of coin, Temperance finds herself saddled with babysitting an unyielding marshal and his sorcerous prisoner. To make matters worse, an army of bandits are hot on their heels, determined to free the sorcerer at any cost. It will take all of Temperance's wits—and bullets—to come out of this on the right side of the dirt.
THE DELIVERY OF FLESH is the first in a planned eight-part series, with book two also available. The book also includes six illustrations by artist Jin A. Lee.
155 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2019
151 people are currently reading
380 people want to read
About the author
Francis James Blair
14 books15 followersJames is an accountant living in Eastern Washington. He started writing in 2015 after a dream left a story in his head that he couldn’t make go away. He’s been typing at the keyboard furiously ever since, and probably won’t stop until sometime around noon on the day of his funeral.
His current published works include the Bulletproof Witch Series, the Books of the Ascendant, as well as a short story titled ‘For Want of a Sword’ in the Roll of the Dice III anthology.
His current published works include the Bulletproof Witch Series, the Books of the Ascendant, as well as a short story titled ‘For Want of a Sword’ in the Roll of the Dice III anthology.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 40 reviews
July 17, 2019
I try to be generous with my ratings for self-published books, but this is still only 3 stars. It's competently written, but the pacing felt off. This has nothing to do with the length of the book (straddling novella, novel, and serial installation at 100 pages with additional "episodes" planned). Even when the MC is literally hanging off a rope bridge in the middle of the desert (yes, pretty much every scene is that clichéd/tropey), there is no sense of urgency. There is, however, an illustration to accompany the chapter.
The inclusion of illustrations every other chapter is a nice touch, though they don't add much to the story since they focus on mundane - rather than fantastical - sights.
Still, warlocks, free magic sorcerers, and church-trained marshals bearing rigid recipes for magical hex-bullets as they all chase demons in the Wild West has some promise.
Read it if you want Wild West gunslinger tropes with a fantasy flavour or like mixing outlaws and alchemical corps à la Fullmetal Alchemist. I personally preferred Copperhead for similar feels, but that's a graphic novel.
The inclusion of illustrations every other chapter is a nice touch, though they don't add much to the story since they focus on mundane - rather than fantastical - sights.
Still, warlocks, free magic sorcerers, and church-trained marshals bearing rigid recipes for magical hex-bullets as they all chase demons in the Wild West has some promise.
Read it if you want Wild West gunslinger tropes with a fantasy flavour or like mixing outlaws and alchemical corps à la Fullmetal Alchemist. I personally preferred Copperhead for similar feels, but that's a graphic novel.
January 22, 2019
Had a surprising amount of fun reading this book.
I think it's a really good debut novel(la). The author has a good understanding of worldbuilding, and was able to not only craft an interesting world for this novel, but also reveal things about the universe without it feeling (too) forced.* I'm excited to read more about this world in subsequent novels.
The magic system is fun, and pretty unique. I don't think I've read a book with a similar concept. I'm a huge fan of the super-competant lady in a world of men trope, and I think it was well executed here. There were some references to her gender by other characters and I would appreciate it if in the future that every character doesn't question her abilities , which is kind of what happened here.
I also liked the fun illustrations between some chapters - the first time images have worked on my Kindle.
Anyway, it was a fun read and am looking forward to the next book.
*
I think it's a really good debut novel(la). The author has a good understanding of worldbuilding, and was able to not only craft an interesting world for this novel, but also reveal things about the universe without it feeling (too) forced.* I'm excited to read more about this world in subsequent novels.
The magic system is fun, and pretty unique. I don't think I've read a book with a similar concept. I'm a huge fan of the super-competant lady in a world of men trope, and I think it was well executed here. There were some references to her gender by other characters and I would appreciate it if in the future that every character doesn't question her abilities , which is kind of what happened here.
I also liked the fun illustrations between some chapters - the first time images have worked on my Kindle.
Anyway, it was a fun read and am looking forward to the next book.
*
January 28, 2019
I really enjoyed this story. It was fun, the characters were likable, and there was a good bit of action. It was well written and had a good flow (which is not always something you get in a debut work). I’m looking forward to reading more in the series.
December 9, 2019
Temperance is a fun character with plenty of room to grow in this exciting series. The action is snappy, the world is engrossing, and the magic is unique and interesting. Looking forward to the next episode!
February 5, 2019
3.5. As an indie fantasy writer, I love to find other indie fantasy writers who are new to me. I can't quite remember how I came across this novella, but I'm certainly glad I did! This is a fun, quick read with an interesting world and shades of Wynonna Earp. It's about Temperance Whiteoak, whose grandfather was the first Pistol Warlock, people who can make and use hex bullets. Now, though, the Pistol Warlocks are lawmen, and Temperance isn't interested in that nearly as much as she's interested in revenge against the demons who slaughtered her town and family.
But getting revenge means Temperance needs hex bullets, and hex bullets mean she needs money. She agrees to help a marshal escort a prisoner to Benson City in exchange for payment. Things get complicated, though, when the prisoner's men chase them across the wilderness thanks to a magical brand.
Because it's a novella, the plot is pretty straightforward, but I think where the story shines is in the worldbuilding. Little by little, Blair sprinkles in interesting or cool details that add to the world. The concepts of Pistol Warlocks and hex bullets are vital to the story, and the further in you get, the more you know about both. I especially liked the tidbit when Temperance refers to making and casting the bullets as an art form. But even the details that were less important to the plot made the world seem more developed and less cookie-cutter. My favorite was Astor the horse, Temperance's familiar, who can communicate telepathically with her and frequently does to tell her she's making bad decisions.
My biggest complaint is I didn't think Temperance was fully fleshed-out. Part of that is just the length of the story. It's hard to fit a lot of character development into 100 pages. Mostly, I want to know more about what drives her--outside of revenge--and I'm looking forward to seeing where the next novella takes us.
But getting revenge means Temperance needs hex bullets, and hex bullets mean she needs money. She agrees to help a marshal escort a prisoner to Benson City in exchange for payment. Things get complicated, though, when the prisoner's men chase them across the wilderness thanks to a magical brand.
Because it's a novella, the plot is pretty straightforward, but I think where the story shines is in the worldbuilding. Little by little, Blair sprinkles in interesting or cool details that add to the world. The concepts of Pistol Warlocks and hex bullets are vital to the story, and the further in you get, the more you know about both. I especially liked the tidbit when Temperance refers to making and casting the bullets as an art form. But even the details that were less important to the plot made the world seem more developed and less cookie-cutter. My favorite was Astor the horse, Temperance's familiar, who can communicate telepathically with her and frequently does to tell her she's making bad decisions.
My biggest complaint is I didn't think Temperance was fully fleshed-out. Part of that is just the length of the story. It's hard to fit a lot of character development into 100 pages. Mostly, I want to know more about what drives her--outside of revenge--and I'm looking forward to seeing where the next novella takes us.
December 30, 2021
I really like this book. The premise is fun and not too in your face for the moment. Let me explain: It feels like the world-building is fully developed in the author's mind, but he only gives us little bits here and there to make us "see" his universe. No info dumps. The story is simple and easy to follow, the characters are well presented and interesting. The magic/hex bullets thing is very cool and offer many possibilities. The writing style is easy-to-read, and the pacing of the story is great. I really have nothing bad to say about this book, on the contrary, I can't wait to read the rest of the series and I strongly recommend that you do too.
January 21, 2019
An exciting start to the series! Cowboys, daemons and sorcerers, what more could a girl ask for?
March 4, 2019
Short but sweet
Well written and a world that is thought out. Wish it was longer so I can learn more but I guess I'll just have to wait for the second one.
Well written and a world that is thought out. Wish it was longer so I can learn more but I guess I'll just have to wait for the second one.
September 30, 2019
This is short, and it's more a novella than a "proper" book, and, in some ways, it's a shame, because the idea behind all of it is really good, but this is too short and the author didn't manage to develop all things properly (obviously).
I loved the world-building, all the witchcraft with the bullets was great and original, and I would have loved to see more of it because it has merits. A ton of them. And it's set in the Far West, so that was cool, too!
And then we have the characters. They were good (especially the horse, it was fantastic! Ad yes, we have a speaking horse, how cool is that??) but, again, we lack something because of the length of the story. Temperance is a good MC, but it's not enough, we could have seen more of her, and even if I liked her I was hoping in something more. And then we have the relationships between characters, and they are not so well developed, too. For exmple we read of the moment in which she starts to call the Sheriff with his first name, Peter. And we get that this is an important moment but it lacks in-depth, we know it but we don't see it.
Obviously, all my complains are related to the format of this book, and they are not great faults. If we just considered it a novella well, we have a good reading. It's just that it could have been so much more!
I loved the world-building, all the witchcraft with the bullets was great and original, and I would have loved to see more of it because it has merits. A ton of them. And it's set in the Far West, so that was cool, too!
And then we have the characters. They were good (especially the horse, it was fantastic! Ad yes, we have a speaking horse, how cool is that??) but, again, we lack something because of the length of the story. Temperance is a good MC, but it's not enough, we could have seen more of her, and even if I liked her I was hoping in something more. And then we have the relationships between characters, and they are not so well developed, too. For exmple we read of the moment in which she starts to call the Sheriff with his first name, Peter. And we get that this is an important moment but it lacks in-depth, we know it but we don't see it.
Obviously, all my complains are related to the format of this book, and they are not great faults. If we just considered it a novella well, we have a good reading. It's just that it could have been so much more!
June 10, 2021
Temperance is a demon hunting witch and gunslinger at the ripe old age of seventeen. She's also on a mission of revenge. In a very real way, she's kind of halfway between TRUE GRIT's Mattie and the Man with No Name. Along the way, she ends up joining a Marshal to transport a warlock prisoner across the desert. I really enjoyed the mixture of magic, the Wild West, and classic tropes here. I'm definitely picking up the sequel. It's a bit on the short side but I really appreciated the art that went along with the story. Temperance is a real cutie and the art has a sort of manga style.
May 5, 2021
This novella had a strong beginning. The writing is great and I could see that the author has paid good attention to world building and other details. The illustrations were nice as well.
I did like the story that followed, but it felt like a teaser episode for bigger things to come. Hope to read the sequels soon.
I did like the story that followed, but it felt like a teaser episode for bigger things to come. Hope to read the sequels soon.
June 26, 2021
This was a real surprise and a treat to boot.
I found this on a list of good Kindle Unlimited reads and so I decided to check it out. The main bit that had me intrigued was it was considered a “Weird West” book and I was definitely in the mood for that, regardless of whatever mood I thought I was in at the time.
What this story has going for it is a likable protagonist in Temperance Whiteoak, a haunted backstory that is revealed slowly over time and a fun setting that puts a real spin on the Old West. A mix of magic, pistol wielding witches using enchanted bullets and a talking horse all combine to make a fun ride. Definitely reading more of this wonderful find.
I found this on a list of good Kindle Unlimited reads and so I decided to check it out. The main bit that had me intrigued was it was considered a “Weird West” book and I was definitely in the mood for that, regardless of whatever mood I thought I was in at the time.
What this story has going for it is a likable protagonist in Temperance Whiteoak, a haunted backstory that is revealed slowly over time and a fun setting that puts a real spin on the Old West. A mix of magic, pistol wielding witches using enchanted bullets and a talking horse all combine to make a fun ride. Definitely reading more of this wonderful find.
June 29, 2021
A mix of sorcery and bounty hunting like a gunslinger. A first for me of this blend and found book one to be highly entertaining! Tragedy has hit the MC’s family and their traditions are being lost in this world. Her mission to find the evil responsible gets delayed as she crosses paths with the new version of pistol warlocks. The rest will lead you through dangers everywhere! Very much adding Book 2 to my TBR.
January 12, 2019
Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this novella in return for an honest review. The Delivery of Flesh releases 12/01/2019 (that's January 12th for our American readers).
You know wot I like? Flintlock, that’s wot!
My experience with the flintlock fantasy subgenre is limited mostly to Brian McLellan’s excellent Powder Mage universe, which has a very European feel to it, what with crowds of citizens screaming revolution-bloody-revolution, military coups, and countries waiting to pounce on their neighbours at the first sign of blood.
Bulletproof Witch: The Delivery of Flesh is a different beast, but no worse for it! Allow me, then, to go over the most interesting aspects of this 100-page novella, without spoiling any of the plot – The Delivery of Flesh won’t be out until mid-January, and I’d hate to take the opportunity from you, dear reader, to take your full enjoyment of this first chapter in Temperance Whiteoak’s story!
The setting is clearly inspired by stories of the Wild West; gun-wielding lawmen of the Federation (an analogue for the US) ride throughout the land, hunting outlaws down for their usual assortment of crimes – murder, thievery and— oh, yes! —unsolicited use of sorcery. Small outposts of civilization lay between large swathes of uninhabited land, filled with dangers. The nature of these dangers is most often demonic in origin – Whiteoak’s adventure kicks off with the hunt of a particularly nasty daemon by the name of Belial. Must be a common name, down there.
The prose is serviceable – it won’t strike you with elegance, but nor is it sloppy and lazy. It serves to depict this Wild West-like world well enough, though I don’t recall any particular scene remaining with me once I was done with The Delivery of Flesh.
What I did remember was Temperance Whiteoak’s overarching story. This Pistol Witch, as another character christens her over the course of the story, has a real bone to pick with a band of dangerous daemons no one seems to know much about. That was the plot thread I truly cared about – Temperance going after her enemies, vengeance on her mind.
The main plot we got, I will admit I didn’t get invested in, not as much as I would’ve liked. Temperance is forced to aid a marshal in escorting a sorcerer to a bigger settlement where she can get paid for capturing that Belial fellow; Temperance’s annoyance with, and disdain for, this escort duty translated to me, and didn’t let go entirely even as the tension rose on several occasions.
What I did like was the introduction of a spiritual culture different from the Federation and at odds with it. They gave me the good kind of mystical vibes, and I would’ve liked to spend more time with them. But alas, ‘twas not meant to be.
The climax of the story was handled well. A good amount of action, bullets flying left and right, and the main hero subverting the enemy’s expectations in an interesting way.
This novella has a few sweet illustrations, which set the tone for the world well enough. I’m always happy when the words I read come with pretty pictures to the side! I also like the cover quite a bit
You should read this, if you like:
*Wild West fantasy/flintlock;
*Stories that offer illustrations besides the text;
*Cool protagonists with a lot of potential in future novellas;
*Stories about outlaws and by-the-book lawmen;
* And more, prob’ly!
I’ll give this first novella of the series (and the author’s first self-published work) three and a half stars out of five. For Goodreads, I’ll round that up to four, though I’m leaning more towards “Like” than “Really Like”. There’s a little something missing for that extra mile but I think Francis James Blair will only improve from here on out. There’s a lot of potential to Temperance’s story, and I hope to see her next outing soon!
You know wot I like? Flintlock, that’s wot!
My experience with the flintlock fantasy subgenre is limited mostly to Brian McLellan’s excellent Powder Mage universe, which has a very European feel to it, what with crowds of citizens screaming revolution-bloody-revolution, military coups, and countries waiting to pounce on their neighbours at the first sign of blood.
Bulletproof Witch: The Delivery of Flesh is a different beast, but no worse for it! Allow me, then, to go over the most interesting aspects of this 100-page novella, without spoiling any of the plot – The Delivery of Flesh won’t be out until mid-January, and I’d hate to take the opportunity from you, dear reader, to take your full enjoyment of this first chapter in Temperance Whiteoak’s story!
The setting is clearly inspired by stories of the Wild West; gun-wielding lawmen of the Federation (an analogue for the US) ride throughout the land, hunting outlaws down for their usual assortment of crimes – murder, thievery and— oh, yes! —unsolicited use of sorcery. Small outposts of civilization lay between large swathes of uninhabited land, filled with dangers. The nature of these dangers is most often demonic in origin – Whiteoak’s adventure kicks off with the hunt of a particularly nasty daemon by the name of Belial. Must be a common name, down there.
The prose is serviceable – it won’t strike you with elegance, but nor is it sloppy and lazy. It serves to depict this Wild West-like world well enough, though I don’t recall any particular scene remaining with me once I was done with The Delivery of Flesh.
What I did remember was Temperance Whiteoak’s overarching story. This Pistol Witch, as another character christens her over the course of the story, has a real bone to pick with a band of dangerous daemons no one seems to know much about. That was the plot thread I truly cared about – Temperance going after her enemies, vengeance on her mind.
The main plot we got, I will admit I didn’t get invested in, not as much as I would’ve liked. Temperance is forced to aid a marshal in escorting a sorcerer to a bigger settlement where she can get paid for capturing that Belial fellow; Temperance’s annoyance with, and disdain for, this escort duty translated to me, and didn’t let go entirely even as the tension rose on several occasions.
What I did like was the introduction of a spiritual culture different from the Federation and at odds with it. They gave me the good kind of mystical vibes, and I would’ve liked to spend more time with them. But alas, ‘twas not meant to be.
The climax of the story was handled well. A good amount of action, bullets flying left and right, and the main hero subverting the enemy’s expectations in an interesting way.
This novella has a few sweet illustrations, which set the tone for the world well enough. I’m always happy when the words I read come with pretty pictures to the side! I also like the cover quite a bit
You should read this, if you like:
*Wild West fantasy/flintlock;
*Stories that offer illustrations besides the text;
*Cool protagonists with a lot of potential in future novellas;
*Stories about outlaws and by-the-book lawmen;
* And more, prob’ly!
I’ll give this first novella of the series (and the author’s first self-published work) three and a half stars out of five. For Goodreads, I’ll round that up to four, though I’m leaning more towards “Like” than “Really Like”. There’s a little something missing for that extra mile but I think Francis James Blair will only improve from here on out. There’s a lot of potential to Temperance’s story, and I hope to see her next outing soon!
May 17, 2019
I got this book through the TBRindR-service which means I got it for free which means nothing as I still say whatever the fuck I want.
So this one is on the shorter side (given as it’s a novella) and for the length it feels like the opening to something like Supernatural or the X-Files.
Bulletproof Witch as the title suggests and the cover confirms is a supernatural western, you’ve got demons, magical bullets and sorcerers in the Wild West (or a fantasy version of it anyway)
As it’s the first in a planned eight part series we don’t really get much worldbuilding sure we get hints of the different factions in the world and how the technology/magic evolved but never really get into any details or get more than the most basic information. Which is not bad since it’s only about a 100 pages and more would just take away from the basic story and I guess we will learn more about everything in the other instalments. There is some foreshadowing (I guess, I mean I can’t really know) in the later parts of the story so it seams I can’t really complain here.
As with the world building we don’t really get much character development either (and not that many either) but again it’s only about 100 pages.
We follow Temperance Whiteoak granddaughter of “Brimstone” a famous Pistol Warlock (think sorcerer with guns instead of wands) on her quest to capture/kill the demon who destroyed her village. She is a capable fighter and can take care of her own and is shown that way, while she get’s saved a few times it never feels as if it’s just cause Temperance is a women. Any further words can only be guesses as she doesn’t have that much of a character development throughout the story her. She has a clear motivation and I think a revenge driven story fits the genre and there are hints that it’s not that clear as it may seem (at least I hope so it’s either that or the final chance at killing her enemy). Ohh and she got a horse as a familiar which is kinda new to me as far as witch companions come.
For most of the story she is accompanied by two other characters but as I cant tell if the come up again in the story or if they just here to kickstart the adventure I can only say they never really developed beyond their archetypes.
For the magic itself at first I thought we would get a rather hard system where you can only cast with the help of “hexbullets” but we get to see other forms of magic too (don’t count demons here as they serve only for background and opening action here) manly the more traditional kind with spells and ingredients but don’t really get to explore the limits of any of these. We get to see a “power-cap” for the bullets and a feel for how they work. A neat idea I really liked is that the bullets need to be inscribed with runes and different runes wield different results but they all need to be called upon with the right words or they won’t fire at all.
Most of my criticisms comes from the fact Bulletproof Witch is only a 100 pages (give or take) and they can be ironed out with the further instalments and its an interesting story and world that has great potential and again it’s a 100 pages so it’s not too big of an time investment. Go read it!
So this one is on the shorter side (given as it’s a novella) and for the length it feels like the opening to something like Supernatural or the X-Files.
Bulletproof Witch as the title suggests and the cover confirms is a supernatural western, you’ve got demons, magical bullets and sorcerers in the Wild West (or a fantasy version of it anyway)
As it’s the first in a planned eight part series we don’t really get much worldbuilding sure we get hints of the different factions in the world and how the technology/magic evolved but never really get into any details or get more than the most basic information. Which is not bad since it’s only about a 100 pages and more would just take away from the basic story and I guess we will learn more about everything in the other instalments. There is some foreshadowing (I guess, I mean I can’t really know) in the later parts of the story so it seams I can’t really complain here.
As with the world building we don’t really get much character development either (and not that many either) but again it’s only about 100 pages.
We follow Temperance Whiteoak granddaughter of “Brimstone” a famous Pistol Warlock (think sorcerer with guns instead of wands) on her quest to capture/kill the demon who destroyed her village. She is a capable fighter and can take care of her own and is shown that way, while she get’s saved a few times it never feels as if it’s just cause Temperance is a women. Any further words can only be guesses as she doesn’t have that much of a character development throughout the story her. She has a clear motivation and I think a revenge driven story fits the genre and there are hints that it’s not that clear as it may seem (at least I hope so it’s either that or the final chance at killing her enemy). Ohh and she got a horse as a familiar which is kinda new to me as far as witch companions come.
For most of the story she is accompanied by two other characters but as I cant tell if the come up again in the story or if they just here to kickstart the adventure I can only say they never really developed beyond their archetypes.
For the magic itself at first I thought we would get a rather hard system where you can only cast with the help of “hexbullets” but we get to see other forms of magic too (don’t count demons here as they serve only for background and opening action here) manly the more traditional kind with spells and ingredients but don’t really get to explore the limits of any of these. We get to see a “power-cap” for the bullets and a feel for how they work. A neat idea I really liked is that the bullets need to be inscribed with runes and different runes wield different results but they all need to be called upon with the right words or they won’t fire at all.
Most of my criticisms comes from the fact Bulletproof Witch is only a 100 pages (give or take) and they can be ironed out with the further instalments and its an interesting story and world that has great potential and again it’s a 100 pages so it’s not too big of an time investment. Go read it!
January 4, 2019
The novella has six black and white interior drawings which reflect the mood very well.
Temperance Whiteoak is the granddaughter of a famous pistol warlock James ”Brimstone” Whiteoak. However, after her family was killed, she doesn't advertise her connections. She's a bounty hunter, hunting daemons. Now, she's on the trail of Belial, a powerful daemon. She wants both information from him and the bounty. But when she hunts him down, she must fight him and gets very little info for her trouble. When she brings the daemon (in a magical tube) to the closest town, her troubles only start: the sheriff doesn't have enough money to pay her. However, a Federation marshal is just bringing in a prisoner and needs a partner to transport the prisoner to the nearest big city, a week away. Temperance doesn't want to go there but she has not choice. However, the sheriff didn't tell her about the real difficulties: the prisoner is a warlock and his gang of criminals will try to rescue him and that Temperance must follow the rules for Federation marshals, which means no killing.
Temperance has nothing but scorn for the marshals and their rules. Luckily, her telepathic horse Astor is there to help her, along with the hexbullets she inherited from her family. Temperance and Astor are trying to get revenge on the people, or daemons, who killed Temperance's family and Astor isn't happy about the dangerous detour.
She knows how to make hexbullets which, combined with the right word or words, produce different magic effects. However, they're not cheap to make and take a lot of time, too. To her disgust, the marshal doesn't know much about hexbullets or magic. Most people seem to use ordinary bullets. Also, while pistol warlocks are legal, other forms of magic seem to be illegal.
The story is set in a fantasy world of Korvana. There's a reference that the local inhabitant are descended from island or another continent called Galinor. Still, at least some of the current people seem think of those who came recently from Galinor as foreigners. People know about daemons which seem to be able to take over a human body. The Church pays a bounty on them.
Temperance is a very determined young woman who has only recently turned 17. However, she's quite mature for her age because she's had to face danger since she was quite young. She's also been alone for several years, except for Astor. She has secrets and so avoids people who want to question her.
This was a quick and fun read. I haven't read many weird western books but I liked this one quite a lot. I'm certainly going to read the next novella in the series.
Temperance Whiteoak is the granddaughter of a famous pistol warlock James ”Brimstone” Whiteoak. However, after her family was killed, she doesn't advertise her connections. She's a bounty hunter, hunting daemons. Now, she's on the trail of Belial, a powerful daemon. She wants both information from him and the bounty. But when she hunts him down, she must fight him and gets very little info for her trouble. When she brings the daemon (in a magical tube) to the closest town, her troubles only start: the sheriff doesn't have enough money to pay her. However, a Federation marshal is just bringing in a prisoner and needs a partner to transport the prisoner to the nearest big city, a week away. Temperance doesn't want to go there but she has not choice. However, the sheriff didn't tell her about the real difficulties: the prisoner is a warlock and his gang of criminals will try to rescue him and that Temperance must follow the rules for Federation marshals, which means no killing.
Temperance has nothing but scorn for the marshals and their rules. Luckily, her telepathic horse Astor is there to help her, along with the hexbullets she inherited from her family. Temperance and Astor are trying to get revenge on the people, or daemons, who killed Temperance's family and Astor isn't happy about the dangerous detour.
She knows how to make hexbullets which, combined with the right word or words, produce different magic effects. However, they're not cheap to make and take a lot of time, too. To her disgust, the marshal doesn't know much about hexbullets or magic. Most people seem to use ordinary bullets. Also, while pistol warlocks are legal, other forms of magic seem to be illegal.
The story is set in a fantasy world of Korvana. There's a reference that the local inhabitant are descended from island or another continent called Galinor. Still, at least some of the current people seem think of those who came recently from Galinor as foreigners. People know about daemons which seem to be able to take over a human body. The Church pays a bounty on them.
Temperance is a very determined young woman who has only recently turned 17. However, she's quite mature for her age because she's had to face danger since she was quite young. She's also been alone for several years, except for Astor. She has secrets and so avoids people who want to question her.
This was a quick and fun read. I haven't read many weird western books but I liked this one quite a lot. I'm certainly going to read the next novella in the series.
September 17, 2025
This book is...okay. 2.5 out of 3 stars.
I really like the magic system. I thought it was a pretty inventive one that fit the Wild West feel of the story. I do wish we had gotten more into it, though. The idea of hexbullets is really neat and not something that I've read before. Not sure if it was the author's intent, but the book is VERY short and I think an extra 50-75 pages could have really fleshed out the magic system a bit more.
And fleshed out the characters. We got drips and drops of Temperance's story, especially when she tells Scrimshaw later in the story, but there's almost nothing on what a Pistol Warlock (or Witch) is, what they do, how they came to be. We know that Temperance's grandfather was a serious badass, apparently, and Temperance trained under him, but how did he come to be a Pistol Warlock? And it sounds like these people are descendants of immigrants, and maybe later books go into further detail, but is this something that came from that land? And the 'spark' she seemed to feel with Scrimshaw kind of came out of left field as there wasn't really anything there that made me think, hmm, they seem to be drawn to each other.
I didn't really feel any sense of urgency to transport LaLaish to Benson and the jail there. Even being chased across plains and through canyons, there wasn't a whole lot of depth to the action to make me feel like they weren't going to make it. Everything was very surface level. At one point Temperance was hanging by a rope under a bridge, about to plummet to her death at the bottom of the canyon, she was just kind of "Whelp, this is it, I suppose." Which maybe is just her character, her personality, but again, we weren't really given much of who she is before that to say, yes, this is definitely something her character would think.
I might check out the next installment because I do want to see more of this magic system and see if we learn anything more about Temperance and her story.
I really like the magic system. I thought it was a pretty inventive one that fit the Wild West feel of the story. I do wish we had gotten more into it, though. The idea of hexbullets is really neat and not something that I've read before. Not sure if it was the author's intent, but the book is VERY short and I think an extra 50-75 pages could have really fleshed out the magic system a bit more.
And fleshed out the characters. We got drips and drops of Temperance's story, especially when she tells Scrimshaw later in the story, but there's almost nothing on what a Pistol Warlock (or Witch) is, what they do, how they came to be. We know that Temperance's grandfather was a serious badass, apparently, and Temperance trained under him, but how did he come to be a Pistol Warlock? And it sounds like these people are descendants of immigrants, and maybe later books go into further detail, but is this something that came from that land? And the 'spark' she seemed to feel with Scrimshaw kind of came out of left field as there wasn't really anything there that made me think, hmm, they seem to be drawn to each other.
I didn't really feel any sense of urgency to transport LaLaish to Benson and the jail there. Even being chased across plains and through canyons, there wasn't a whole lot of depth to the action to make me feel like they weren't going to make it. Everything was very surface level. At one point Temperance was hanging by a rope under a bridge, about to plummet to her death at the bottom of the canyon, she was just kind of "Whelp, this is it, I suppose." Which maybe is just her character, her personality, but again, we weren't really given much of who she is before that to say, yes, this is definitely something her character would think.
I might check out the next installment because I do want to see more of this magic system and see if we learn anything more about Temperance and her story.
March 10, 2020
It's no secret, weird westerns are mighty thin on the ground. I believe any writer of such a genre should stick together at least somewhat (with perhaps the odd pistol-cockin' betrayal and horse thievery to spice things up). So it was my solemn no good duty to read this fella Francis's first novel and see just how much hammer fanning, tobacco spitting and dust kickin' it included.
As it turns out, The Delivery of Flesh is highly enjoyable, and not only because it occupies such a bereft genre. It has all the western trappings you'd want, but is coloured by exciting fantasy elements - demons and magic and all. In fact the best idea of the series is that of "hexbullets" - rare and specially crafted magic bullets that each have their own unique and often devastating effect. This gives firefights that bit more variety, creativity and unpredictability. They aren't overused, so I reckon we can all look forward to new types in the later books.
There wasn't a moment in the book I wasn't entertained or didn't want to know more about it all. It is a light read, but as I see the later ones are longer. This is a sort of tipping your toes into the world kinda deal, which is real nice.
And the world does interest. For the future I just hope to see more detail and depth given of the world, but maybe I'm just a sucker for that kind of thing and others less of my predilections will want more story and less landscape. Me, though, this is the kind of writing that gets my juices flowing:
"They reached the top of a small rise, and the land stretched away below them, all scrub brush and emaciated pine. In the distance they could see the start of the canyon, like a gaping maw laid upon the landscape to drive them down into its belly."
As it turns out, The Delivery of Flesh is highly enjoyable, and not only because it occupies such a bereft genre. It has all the western trappings you'd want, but is coloured by exciting fantasy elements - demons and magic and all. In fact the best idea of the series is that of "hexbullets" - rare and specially crafted magic bullets that each have their own unique and often devastating effect. This gives firefights that bit more variety, creativity and unpredictability. They aren't overused, so I reckon we can all look forward to new types in the later books.
There wasn't a moment in the book I wasn't entertained or didn't want to know more about it all. It is a light read, but as I see the later ones are longer. This is a sort of tipping your toes into the world kinda deal, which is real nice.
And the world does interest. For the future I just hope to see more detail and depth given of the world, but maybe I'm just a sucker for that kind of thing and others less of my predilections will want more story and less landscape. Me, though, this is the kind of writing that gets my juices flowing:
"They reached the top of a small rise, and the land stretched away below them, all scrub brush and emaciated pine. In the distance they could see the start of the canyon, like a gaping maw laid upon the landscape to drive them down into its belly."
April 2, 2019
Tons of fun, well worth a read
This was an excellently fun Western-style fantasy. My first note after beginning the book was “Wild, wild west with daemon-hunting witch and talking horse, love it already”. And I continued loving it throughout. The book is pretty short, which makes it a very quick read. It is a self-contained “episode”, but more books in the series are on the way and there is an grander unresolved plot line that (I assume) will be continued throughout the series. The characters were interesting, and felt distinct and real. We follow Temperance Whiteoak on a short journey to escort a Federation marshal and his sorcerer prisoner to a trial. I didn’t feel that the world-building was terribly detailed in this book, but it also never made me feel lost or like I was missing information in a detrimental way. We get bits and pieces of the world as Temperance talks about or reflects upon her personal past, or in conversations with the other characters.
There are several pieces of art included at the end of chapters, and they’re really cool. I really enjoyed those, and it’s not something I see often in fantasy books.
If you like Westerns, this is for you. If you’re looking for a quick adventure that’s very easy to get into, check this one out. This was all-around very quick and fun, and I’d recommend it to just about anyone, honestly.
This was an excellently fun Western-style fantasy. My first note after beginning the book was “Wild, wild west with daemon-hunting witch and talking horse, love it already”. And I continued loving it throughout. The book is pretty short, which makes it a very quick read. It is a self-contained “episode”, but more books in the series are on the way and there is an grander unresolved plot line that (I assume) will be continued throughout the series. The characters were interesting, and felt distinct and real. We follow Temperance Whiteoak on a short journey to escort a Federation marshal and his sorcerer prisoner to a trial. I didn’t feel that the world-building was terribly detailed in this book, but it also never made me feel lost or like I was missing information in a detrimental way. We get bits and pieces of the world as Temperance talks about or reflects upon her personal past, or in conversations with the other characters.
There are several pieces of art included at the end of chapters, and they’re really cool. I really enjoyed those, and it’s not something I see often in fantasy books.
If you like Westerns, this is for you. If you’re looking for a quick adventure that’s very easy to get into, check this one out. This was all-around very quick and fun, and I’d recommend it to just about anyone, honestly.
December 13, 2019
I enjoyed this book quite a bit. It is short, at 150 pages, but does a good job setting up the series as a whole while having a story of its own.
The downside of the length is that the many roles the story has to fill leave it lacking in a certain depth. Between establishing the basics of the world and countries, Temperance's back story, a bit about her grandfather, and the main "quest" bit there's not time to dive too deeply into anything. For me personally it left me curious, but some readers may find it simply frustrating.
I did think that the interpersonal dynamic between Temperance an the Marshall was well handled. It felt believable, and set some things up later to a degree that is appropriate for the amount of time they spent together.
I'll definitely be picking up more of the series.
The downside of the length is that the many roles the story has to fill leave it lacking in a certain depth. Between establishing the basics of the world and countries, Temperance's back story, a bit about her grandfather, and the main "quest" bit there's not time to dive too deeply into anything. For me personally it left me curious, but some readers may find it simply frustrating.
I did think that the interpersonal dynamic between Temperance an the Marshall was well handled. It felt believable, and set some things up later to a degree that is appropriate for the amount of time they spent together.
I'll definitely be picking up more of the series.
September 17, 2019
Shoot outs, magic, and a setting that is straight out of Red Dead Redemption, Bulletproof Witch is definitely a fun little story. The author sets up an interesting relationship between Temperance and Marshal Schrimshaw. He has Federation Law to follow and Temperance is willing to kill anything that gets in her way… There may need to be a bit of a compromise.
Blair leaves a lot of room for growth and further adventures as Temperance’s backstory is far from being fully revealed. Check this one out for a good character and a Wild West like you’ve never known.
For my full review: https://paulspicks.blog/2019/09/17/bu...
For all my reviews: https://paulspicks.blog
Blair leaves a lot of room for growth and further adventures as Temperance’s backstory is far from being fully revealed. Check this one out for a good character and a Wild West like you’ve never known.
For my full review: https://paulspicks.blog/2019/09/17/bu...
For all my reviews: https://paulspicks.blog
January 20, 2019
I love the premise of this story. I think it could go on to really great things.
I would really love to see a more in-depth world with more focus on the magic system (focused on her grandfather's story would be so cool). I'm really interested to see where the story goes next and to find out more about this world.
All in all it was a solid read but could use more dimension in terms of character development and world building. The relationships felt very convenient at times but I still liked the way they are headed at the end.
It's still quite early in the career for this author and I'm very excited to continue on with the story and see where we're going from here.
I would really love to see a more in-depth world with more focus on the magic system (focused on her grandfather's story would be so cool). I'm really interested to see where the story goes next and to find out more about this world.
All in all it was a solid read but could use more dimension in terms of character development and world building. The relationships felt very convenient at times but I still liked the way they are headed at the end.
It's still quite early in the career for this author and I'm very excited to continue on with the story and see where we're going from here.
July 8, 2019
I'm a sucker for a good cover. This one got my attention in a bad way. I wasn't going to buy another ebook, no, no way. This image haunted me, though. I had to know what it was about. The juxtaposition of magic and witches in the wild west sold me, without a doubt. I'm very glad I bought this book and took this ride. I couldn't not read most of the characters with a twangy voice.
While the storyline is a bit cliche, even for a western, the characters, the lore, and the magic really made it worthwhile and fun. I do believe I would take another ride with Temperance and Astor hunting daemons on the open plain (and hope the Marshal shows up).
While the storyline is a bit cliche, even for a western, the characters, the lore, and the magic really made it worthwhile and fun. I do believe I would take another ride with Temperance and Astor hunting daemons on the open plain (and hope the Marshal shows up).
February 2, 2019
This short novella caught my eye as it is an example of a genre hitherto unknown to me: the fantasy western mashup. Both elements, the fantasy and the western, are somewhat lightweight and don’t bring much that’s new to either genre, but the mixture makes for an entertaining and refreshingly different experience. The writing style is straightforward, but pleasant. Good, simple fun.
January 6, 2026
interesting world
Definitely some interesting world building, but the author only gives glimpses without enough to create any coherent whole. The result seemed a bit flat. Though perhaps that’s also due to the book being quite short. Not enough time or space to develop real depth.
Definitely some interesting world building, but the author only gives glimpses without enough to create any coherent whole. The result seemed a bit flat. Though perhaps that’s also due to the book being quite short. Not enough time or space to develop real depth.
February 20, 2019
A new weird west entry that sows the seeds of potentially great worldbuilding through a neat magic bullet-based system and the rough and tumble, but not too off-putting MC, Temperance. I'm looking forward to reading the rest of this so far interesting series.
September 24, 2020
Fascinating World and entertaining Story
This story of a daemon hunter girl in a semi Wild West planet with two moons was a fantastic read. She had to live up to the heroic acts of her grandfather while seeking vengeance for his murder.
This story of a daemon hunter girl in a semi Wild West planet with two moons was a fantastic read. She had to live up to the heroic acts of her grandfather while seeking vengeance for his murder.
October 14, 2020
I enjoyed this more than I thought that I would. The magic has a unique touch to it and there's still plenty of mystery for future books. It is fast paced, and is a nice read to break up longer books. I do see a possibility of me wanting to read more from this series in the future.
January 14, 2023
I had a very good time reading this book. The main character, Temperance, is a very fun and interesting protagonist and the Hexbullet system the author has introduced is an interesting twist one spellslinging. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a short action filled adventure!
July 17, 2023
A short and nice read with western vibes. The prose itself was a tad bit too casual for my liking and I found many of the conversations and trails of thought unrealistic, as in feeling out of place in the situation and not like something an actual person would say or think in that moment.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 40 reviews